An examination of referrals declined for chronic pain treatment: There is increasing mental health complexity within treatment seeking patients with chronic pain over time

Chronic pain is a complex disease that requires interprofessional care for effective management. Despite the need for multidisciplinary care, disease and health care inequities can prevent individuals from attaining adequate treatment. Factors such as mental health, cost, and distance to a health care center can contribute to health care accessibility inequality. The aim of this study is to examine declined referrals at the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI) to determine the reason for declining care and number of declined referrals.